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Shining City on the West Coast
Conor McPherson’s Tony-nominated play gets its L.A. premiere this fall
Shining City lead actors Morlan Higgin [right] and William Dennis Hurley
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This September, director Stephen Sachs is bringing a modern Irish tale to the Fountain Theatre. Shining City, a modern-day ghost story, is the work of young Irish playwright, Conor McPherson and stars Morlan Higgin and William Dennis Hurley for its Los Angeles premiere. The performance of this Tony-nominated play will take place from September 19 to December 19 at the Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles.
The play tells the story of a middle-aged business man, who lives in Dublin and has seen the ghost of his recently deceased wife. While the man (Morlan Higgins) is struggling to understand this phenomenon, he seeks out the help of a therapist (William Dennis Hurley), a former priest struggling with demons of his own. McPherson’s characters and story-telling bring to life a story about love, loss and faith. His characters explore their own hearts and their beliefs in a truly Irish tale that is simultaneously moving an amusing.
Sachs wanted to bring the play to Los Angeles after seeing its 2006 Broadway production in New York. He had been in New York, directing Morlan Higgins and William Dennis Hurley in The Fountain’s Off-Broadway production of Exits and Entrances, when he saw Shining City. He liked the way that McPherson used a traditional Irish ghost story to draw the viewer into a play both moving and spiritual in its own way. “It is brilliantly written, at once funny and poignant—and I knew right away that I wanted to bring it to L.A. and that it would be perfect for Morlan and William,” Sachs explained. McPherson, in an interview with the Associated Press, told reporters that he hopes to explore feelings more so than ideas with this piece. “What I’m really trying to do,” he said, is to take the audience to a very deep place.”
This doubly Tony nominated production has already won the hearts of critics, coming up on the year’s “Top 10” or “Best Of” theater lists of Time magazine, Entertainment Weekly and The New York Times.
While Shining City had its world premiere at London’s Royal Court Theatre in 2004 and its highly acclaimed U.S. premiere in New York, it finally makes its way over to Los Angeles this fall. “We are honored to be able to present the Los Angeles premiere at The Fountain,” says Sachs. “Following the West Coast premiere of Athol Fugard’s Coming Home, it’s deeply rewarding to present to L.A. audiences another new play by a major international playwright.” In addition to the hype about this production’s premiere, McPherson’s supernatural film The Eclipse will open the Irish Film Festival at the Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood this fall as well.
Shining City will open on Saturday, September 19. Performances will run on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. through December 19. Previews will take place Saturday, September 12; Thursday, September 17; and Friday, September 18 at 8 p.m.; and on Sunday, September 13 at 2 p.m.. Tickets are $25 on Thursdays and Fridays and $28 on Saturdays and Sundays, except opening night (September 19), which is $30 and previews which are $15. On Thursdays and Fridays only, Students with ID are $18 and seniors over 62 are $23.
For more information, call 323-663-1525 or visit FountainTheatre.com.